1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process and apparatus for determining the volume of an irregular solid or liquid sample utilizing the compressibility of a gas such as air. The invention can also determine the skeletal volume of a porous solid or powder. The gas is used as a displacement medium; its compressibility permits measuring the volume of the sample. By the use of two volume marked or scaled chambers, it is possible to determine the sample volume by inserting the chamber readings in a forumla or graph derived herein. The gas within both chambers is simultaneously compressed. One chamber contains the sample of unknown volume, the other chamber is used as a compression reference.
2. Description of Prior Art
The prior art in this field of volume measurement has included: direct measurement of geometrically regular solid; methods of water displacement; methods of air displacement dependent on Boyle's Law such as two chamber devices where one chamber is first evacuated or pressurized and then placed in communication with a second chamber. Methods of air displacement independent of Boyle's Law, best described as air comparison pycnometers have also been used. These devices have one or more disadvantages such as slow operation, inaccuracy, and poor reliability.